MACRA awards Gift Kansichi from Mzuzu Govt Sec Sch for outstanding letter writing
Fifteen-year-old Gift Kansichi from Mzuzu Government Secondary School (MZUGOSS) scooped the first prize in the 53rd International Letter Writing Competition organised by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) in conjunction with the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
The boy, who has just written the 2024 Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) Examinations, got a laptop, a gold medal, a dictionary, a set of mathematical instruments, a box of writing materials, ten notebooks and a school bag at a colourful prize presentation ceremony that took place at Sunbird Mzuzu Hotel on Friday.
On second position, 11-year-old Zaithwa Mchombo of El-Shadai Academy Private Primary School got a laptop, a silver medal, a set of mathematical instruments and five notebooks while Ulalo Tembo, also aged 11 from Mepic Private Primary School got a laptop, bronze medal and five notebooks for finishing third.
Speaking to Nyasa Times at event, Kansichi said language teachers at his school are hard working and motivating.
“Our teachers impart in us different language skills that help us to tackle different exercises such as this letter writing which I have won. On top of that, we have a Writers Club which helps us to perfect our writing and vocabulary skills and I would like to thank our patron for encouraging me to take part in this competition.
“My fellow students should believe in themselves and they should be confident. Reading different books and watching current affairs helps a lot because you get enough vocabulary which you can use in writing different pieces,” remarked Kansichi.
MACRA Board Director, Alekeni Odala Menyani, said the competition was a chance for chidren to express themselves on a number of topics.
“The prizes are exciting for young people and I think this year’s theme was challenging but exciting as well. It’s encouraging that the number of entries increased this year to 440 from 338 last year,” he added.
Director of Quality Assurance at the Ministry of Education, Dr Golden Msilimba, said the letter writing competition was a better platform for learners to articulate issues in line with the Malawi 2063 agenda.
“We need such kind of learners who can think and not only memorise things. We feel that such crop of learners should be able to transform our country,” explained Dr Msilimba.
And in a separate interview with Nyasa Times, Chief Quality Assurance Officer in the Northern Education Division (NED), Vincent Kaunda, who represented the Education Division Manager, said it felt good to have the event held in NED.
Said Kaunda:“This is the first time that this event has taken place here in the Northern Education Division since it started in 2020. I would like to thank the Languages Department at Mzuzu Government Secondary School for working tirelessly for their students to win competitions. I remember that two students from this school also won the SADC Essay Competition in 2022.”
The competition is for learners who are not more than 15 years and Kansichi’s letter has been sent to Switzerland to compete at global level. The 2024 theme was about writing a letter to future generations about the world they will inherit.
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